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Primary sourceBook1907

The Story of My Childhood

Clara Barton · 1907

Clara Barton's 1907 memoir recalling her shy childhood in Oxford, Massachusetts, and nursing her injured brother David.

Barton's own memoir of her childhood, the main source for her early life and her care for her brother David.

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Front cover of a red cloth-bound book. Gold-stamped title reads 'THE STORY OF MY CHILDHOOD' with the author name 'CLARA BARTON' below. Torn or damaged corner at top left.
Clara Barton, The Story of My Childhood, 1907.

About this source

What it is

This is a memoir written by Clara Barton in 1907, published by The Baker & Taylor Co. It is held by the Library of Congress. The book recalls her early life in Oxford, Massachusetts.

Why it matters

Barton wrote this book, prompted by a child's letter asking about her girlhood, to answer questions from schoolchildren studying her life. It is the main source historians use for details about her shyness as a child and how she nursed her injured brother David, experiences that some see as shaping her later nursing career.

Look closer

  • Why might Barton have chosen to answer a child's letter by writing a whole book?
  • What does the preface, written as a letter from a student, tell you about how Barton was seen by the public near the end of her life?
  • What might a memoir leave out compared to other kinds of historical evidence?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Clara Barton on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Black-and-white studio portrait of an older woman with dark hair pinned up in curls, wearing a dark dress with an ornate white lace collar and a dark brooch at the neck. She faces left with a slight closed-mouth smile. Copyright stamp reads 1904, J. E. Purdy, Boston.Photograph

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Black-and-white head-and-shoulders portrait of an older woman with dark hair pulled back, wearing a high lace collar, a dark pendant brooch at the throat, and a dark dress, facing the camera against a dark background. Copyright text in the lower left corner reads 1904, J. Eyre Purdy, Boston.Photograph

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